Robert, I don't think that the requirement to be operable during a power loss is something that explicitly applies to the phones themselves, at least for the US.
However, the operability of phones is very likely required by safety standards relating to another area that includes the phones. For instance, for elevator phones in the US, the safety requirement for operability during 4 hours of power loss is part of the safety code for elevators and also extends to the elevator phone as being a part of the system. In short, it may be that the operability requirement for phones during a power outage is in most (all?) cases a part of the safety requirement for a larger system of which the phones are a part. Hope this helps. Victor Trifu --- "Robert A. Macy" <[email protected]> wrote: > Group, > > Is there any "safety" requirement for a telephone to work > during a power failure? Aside from the common sense > requirement? > > Scenario: Business office located in California, USA. > Power failure occurs. All telephones stop functioning > entirely. It is not possible to answer incoming calls, > since the phones don't ring. Worse, no outgoing calls can > be made using the system. > > I thought there was some OSHA, or such, requirement that a > phone handset must work under power fail conditions for > outgoing calls [as long as the telco lines are working]. > Just in case there is a life threatening emergency. > > Can anyone site the reference, or law? > > - Robert - This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to [email protected] Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/listserv/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Ron Pickard: [email protected] Scott Douglas [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: [email protected] Jim Bacher: [email protected] All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc
